Shinkei

The fishing industry hasn’t really changed much since the invention of the fishing rod, the net, and the motor engine. In fact, the introduction of the motor engine in the 1890s was the last major hardware change to the “fishing stack”. The result is a litany of issues plaguing one of the largest agriculture sectors in the world: overfishing, pollution, bycatch, spoilage, and even slavery comprise a few of the most rampant problems here. These are massive issues, which is why we at Cantos are excited to partner with Shinkei Systems. Shinkei is rectifying problems plaguing the fishing industry, and doing so with an exciting blend of hardware and software. Shinkei is a vertically-integrated robotic fish processing company. They’re using robots to process fish more efficiently and humanely, which makes the fish taste better and last up to 3x as long. Saif Khawaja, Shinkei’s founder, is a third-generation hobbyist fisherman who grew up in the UAE before coming to the U.S. for college. Saif is without question, a quintessential example of a Cantos founder. Saif is utterly obsessed — this is his life’s work. He lives and breathes an industry that touches most of our lives, yet we rarely think about. This passion has helped him become an industry expert in record time. As importantly, he’s what we like to call a “Kool-Aid Man”. If you put a wall in front of him, there will be a Saif-shaped hole in it. I say this confidently because I've personally known Saif for over 2 years now. He's assembled a world-class team of mechanical, perception, and software engineers from heralded companies like SpaceX, Anduril, and Relativity, and has paired them with fishing industry insiders that come from Michelin Star restaurants and seafood distribution titans. Reed Ginsberg (CTO), Jennifer Isaza (Software Lead), and Waiman Meinhold, Ph.D (Mechanical Lead) are a few of the many all-stars materially contributing to the future of the company. Together, they've executed insanely fast. They successfully finalized their Poseidon robot and launched their brand Seremoni after only raising a seed round 9 months ago. We detail much more in our announcement post below. I'll close with this: In less than 2.5 years Saif went from an idea in his dorm room to robots fully deployed on boats, processing fish that are now served at Michelin Star restaurants. That’s the speed the Shinkei team operates at. The upside isn’t just better fish, it’s a fundamentally different food supply chain that’s far more efficient, humane, and affordable. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the full Shinkei team as they deliver this vision to the entire world. We’re excited for what this next canto unlocks. https://lnkd.in/eJa9fbJU

I’m stoked to launch Seremoni out of stealth today! Seremoni Fish is a new standard and philosophy for the very best fish. We’re building the supply chains of the future from the ground up. I left academia to start Shinkei and, looking back now, I compare my work over the past few years as very similar to a PhD. Isolation in exploration, lots of upfront learning (including getting caught in a few tropical storms), problem selection, and now implementation of first-principles ideas. Food took a wrong turn when we relied on institutional security for food bred (or, rather, designed) to fill but not to satiate. We deluded ourselves with roundabout social and scientific arguments on what life should be, disregarding patterns of intuition across millennia of vitality. To cross coast to coast, we’ve cultivated our food for speed and cost – not nutrition. In turn, incentives are misaligned. At Seremoni, we build food systems that reconnect us to the patterns of Mother Nature. In Japan, many parts of the food system remain traditional, with the focus to feed one person effectively and scale artisanal systems to everyone — bottoms up over top down systems. It’s not just a matter of taste or flavor. Perhaps that contributes to why the Japanese have the highest percentage of centenarians and 3rd highest life expectancy in the world. Our model’s been validated by the best chefs in the country — our fish is in many of the top restaurants across the country, including Atomix, Sushi Zo, Restaurant Daniel, and many more (viewable on our website). Through our distributors, we have a network of restaurants with over 40 Michelin Stars between them. Seremoni is lucky to be powered by a best-in-class team at Shinkei led by Reed Ginsberg, our CTO. We have many positions open across operations and engineering— please reach out! Thank you to Andrew Watman for telling this story and the many partners like Alexandra Hamile, Nobu Yamanashi and Jeffrey Tedmori who support the cause. I’m looking forward to defending this PhD thesis!

There is nothing like the high of great work driving real impact with a stellar team. It makes the day to day ever so satisfying when we watch the smiles on chefs faces at the unveiling of fish out of their boxes! Thank you Alexandra Owens for spending the time to feature us in Food & Wine. “Every additional step you do compounds the shelf life, compounds the flavor, and compounds the texture,” says Khawaja. “When fish suffocate, they produce stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that make their muscles tense up. They’re flopping around, getting cuts and bruises. The muscles produce lactic acid, which makes the meat taste more acidic. Acidic meat is prime for bacteria growth, and blood provides nutrition for bacteria. It’s like the perfect petri dish.” https://lnkd.in/d6fKxYpG

"For most foods, how they are transported doesn’t make much of a difference for climate pollution — as transportation in the food sector only makes up six percent of emissions, and most foods are not flown to their destination. But it can make a difference for the few foods that are air-freighted, which includes fresh fish, as these air-freighted foods can have a 50 times greater emissions footprint. Producers may be able to ship rather than fly the fish, which would offer greenhouse gas emissions savings." Thank you to Grace Hussain and the Sentient team for the feature, including a few quotes from Michael Fabbro and the great Lynne Sneddon.

Great to see TechCrunch share the great news about our fundraise. Thanks Devin! Reed Ginsberg, Jennifer Isaza, Zhifei Shen, Waiman Meinhold, Ph.D, James Benson, and Erik L. are all working to make our vision a reality. It's an exhilarating feeling to be in a room with such sharp folk! Come join us at Shinkei! We are hiring across the following positions: Software (C++ & Controls) Mechanical Engineering Supply Chain Operations We've opened up our new HQ in City of El Segundo (cc Drew Boyles and Cameron Schiller for the welcome!). Come build the future of food.

Thank you for the space to feature Shinkei’s technology, Progressive Grocer. Though flavor improvements generally take the stage, the discreet knock-on effects of Ike-jime are powerful deterrents against fish spoilage and shrink. There are real biological reasons for this. When fish asphyxiate, they produce many stress-derivative compounds that make the the meat more acidic (e.g. lactic acid). This primes bacteria growth. When the blood is not drained from the meat, the bacteria use it to feed. Both the acidic environment and nutrition compound the speed to spoilage. The muscles of the fish are tensed and elongated so, when frozen, the water in the cells expand and often tear cell membranes. When thawed, the fish will lose this water weight (drip loss), contributing to less revenue across the chain. Ike-jime stops the experience of stress for the fish, slowing spoilage and reducing drip loss. The benefits are tangible: we’ve seen anywhere from double to triple the shelf-like with a portion automated (extension depends on species + handling). Double digit percentage improvements in drip loss have made a tangible difference for the grocers our clients sell to. Read more on how retailers can gain yield from Ike-jime: https://lnkd.in/gHDeyexN

I’m excited to finally announce that Shinkei has raised $6m in seed funding led by Cantos, with participation from 8VC, Impatient Ventures, Ravelin, Susa Ventures/Humba Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, Red & Blue Ventures, Dorm Room Fund, Ratio, Undeterred Capital, Spacecadet, LMNT Ventures and others joining existing investors. Press Release: https://lnkd.in/dziQYHe8 Shinkei is automating the fishing industry. 3 billion people rely on fish as a primary source of protein (UN), but as little as 1 in 3 fish actually make it to a plate in America (Guardian). Waste from spoilage and bycatch contributes to the pressure on high volume fishing with tight margins across the chain. While the US is a leader in policy and sustainability, the reality is the frameworks of seafood, relative to other supply chains, still have catching up to do. The integration of robotics into seafood is lagging relative to agriculture and terrestrial animals —  seafood needs a shake up. Shinkei is building the nervous system for the next generation of meat processing. Our robots have unlocked exponential improvements in unit economics for our partners across the supply chain. Our software-defined platform combines the elegance of mechanism design and controls with vanguard perception models and internal research to unlock a scale to processes previously thought impossible. Partners with 10-figure revenue faced problems that "could never be solved"  and see solutions come to life through early implementation. We believe in sustainability, deliciousness and beauty — for all. Our phenomenal team of ex-SpaceX and early Anduril engineers are leading our charge. If you're interested in fortifying one of America's core industries — reach out. Come join us: https://lnkd.in/dSuVJffQ It takes a village and I'm extremely thankful for our passionate team, extraordinary investors and the generous mentors who continue to help us along the way. From fish sommeliers to farm operators to fishermen to the chefs themselves, the support from the industry continues to be remarkable. More to come, but for now: back to building.